Lahnert: Cobbins says teammate Smart just snapped under pressure

Oklahoma State basketball player Michael Cobbins is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury.

Michael Cobbins smiles and doesn’t hesitate.

“Is he funny? Funniest guy I probably know,” Cobbins said breaking into a laugh himself.

If anybody on this planet knows the swirling world Oklahoma State sophomore guard Marcus Smart these days, it’s former Palo Duro High star Big Mike.

Cobbins is a redshirt junior 6-foot-8 post for OSU who has his own challenges ahead of him. That’s to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered Dec. 30 in a game against Robert Morris.

But with Smart thrown into the national spotlight last weekend when he shoved belligerent Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr, Cobbins and his Cowboys teammates — like it or not — are part of the hoopla.

Smart served the first of his three-game suspension Tuesday night in a game against Texas. No doubt, this is not the kind of season Smart and OSU envisioned when he turned down the big bucks of the NBA to return for his sophomore year.

Despite the struggles in the Big 12, despite losing his cool with the shoving of Orr, Cobbins knows the public doesn’t know the real Smart.

Cobbins was in Lubbock on Saturday and in no way defends ever shoving a fan, saying Smart lost his cool after Orr spewed trash out of his mouth.

“Marcus is a good kid,” said Cobbins, who was in Amarillo on Sunday to receive the prestigious Dick Risenhoover Award that goes to a person who bring national recognition to our area. “He’s dealing with a lot of things right now and has a lot of pressure on him. So I can imagine he’s playing with a little edge right now. Some things you just have to expect when you are playing on an edge and somebody is trying to get at you. You just snap real quick and realize what you did was wrong. You go back and apologize for it but in some fans’ eyes it might be not be acceptable at all.

“He’s just a young kid and I’m sure he will learn from it. He will bounce back from this.”

Cobbins said if you see a few no comments from his teammates over the issue they are simply moving on and getting back to playing basketball.

“This will give us a chance to bond together even closer as a team,” Cobbins said.

Cobbins said he is well on his way to returning healthy for his senior season next year, and may explore a medical redshirt for this season.

He admits in the beginning things were a challenge after the devastating injury.

“It was quite serious,” Cobbins said. “I was hurt at first and I knew my parents were there and I hurt for them because I feel like I’m letting them down every time I get injured. After I had a chance to think about it I got my mind set back where it needed to be.

“I’ve learned everything happens for a reason and I’m going to bounce back even stronger from this.”

Cobbins said the actual rehab on his Achillies hasn’t started yet, “but I’m doing stuff to take care of it like hip work and all the other stuff to strengthen up my other leg right now.”

For now, Cobbins is obviously a missed man inside for OSU, an inconsistent team since he was injured. He walks around with crutches taller than 99 percent of the fans who come to watch the Cowboys play. But even on crutches he is still learning the game of basketball.

“At first it was really difficult not playing,” Cobbins said. “And there are still moments it just sets in, ‘Man, I really wish I could be out there helping my team in more than just a vocal way. To be out there physically.’

“But it has also taught me a different aspect of the game, seeing it from the fans and coach’s perspective. I’m able to tell my teammates what I see and I relay to them what they need to do on the court.”

Lance Lanhert can be reached at 806-345-3312 or lance.lahnert@amarillo.com.